When You Come Back To Me Again
by notjaneausten
Summary: AU, Season 4 - after flu epidemic but without interference from the Governor Rick has banished Carol from the prison after she had confessed to killing Karen. But did she really do it, or is she covering up for someone else?
1. Chapter 1

"Don't look back. Don't look back. Don't look back." Carol chanted under her breath as she got into the car and started the engine. She didn't listen to herself of course, when had she ever? She glanced in the rear view mirror and saw that Rick hadn't moved a muscle in the entire time she had been loading the car. She concentrated on the sound of the engine idling, letting the rhythmic rumbling lull her into an almost meditative state.

"Put the car into drive and just pull away, come on you can do it. Don't think about what he said…don't think about what HE might say." Carol sat with her hands fixed on the steering wheel, staring out of the windscreen into nothing. Rick had made it clear that she had nothing at the prison to return to; there would be no welcoming committee waiting for her at the gate this time around. She swiped her hand under her eyes to remove any sign of threatening tears, determined to get through it without breaking down completely; put the car in gear and pulled away without looking back again.

She made a whole five miles before the first tear fell, eight by the time she was sobbing and by mile ten she realised that she couldn't even see the road anymore. Carol drew the car to a halt; folded her hands across the top of the wheel and leant her head against them; shoulders shaking with the force of her anguish.

_On prayer, in a song; I hear your voice and it keeps me hanging on…._

The lyrics from one of her favourite songs drifted through her mind as she struggled to compose herself. She could almost hear his voice in her mind, telling her to stop with the prayers as they did absolutely no good at all. She was the only person that she could rely on now, Rick had made it perfectly clear that the whole group shared his feelings that she was not a welcome member of the group any longer; nor could she call the prison home. The prison may not have seemed like home to some; but to Carol it was the first place where she had truly felt like Carol Peletier. Not a housewife or a mother; nor was she anyone's punching bag any longer. She had Daryl to thank for that…. "Daryl…." She whispered softly, heart aching for what might have been, but now surely never could.

Carol wiped her eyes and sat back against the driver's seat. She leant over to the passenger side to retrieve a map folded on the seat, scanning for potential destinations. She grabbed a marker pen from the dashboard and placed a giant black cross over the Mert County Prison and nearby town of Woodbury. "No use heading in that direction, nothing left for you there." She traced her finger along the highway markings until she came a small town some fifty miles away. Just outside of that town was a small farm that held many memories for her and the rest of the group; some good and some bad. She refolded the map and placed it inside of her tan satchel. Looking at the gauge on the dash, she could see that she had less than a quarter tank remaining. Carol got out of the car, retrieved a gas can from the boot and topped off the tank, leaving the empty can at the side of the road.

_And again I see my yesterdays in front of me, unravelling like a mystery... _Another line from the song sprang into her mind as she flicked her gaze over to the map again; smiling at the aptness of the lyrics. Choice made, Carol restarted the engine. She instinctively checked for oncoming traffic and then laughed aloud at the absurdity of the gesture. "You're losing the plot, there hasn't been any traffic along this road since the last time we came down it – unless you count the Walkers that is." Turning the car around in the middle of the highway, Carol flicked on her headlights and drove off into the night.


	2. Chapter 2

Back at the prison Rick had barely begun to unload his car when Daryl came rolling into the yard on Merle's old motorcycle. He had noticed straight away that Carol wasn't helping to unload and grew immediately concerned that something bad had happened on the run.

"Where is she Rick? What happened? Please, tell me she's alright!" Daryl hopped off the bike and raced over to Rick's car begging for news. Rick looked up and decided to make the news short and to the point.

"Carol didn't come back with me. We - I decided that it was best she went on her on way after what happened with Karen."

"What's that got to do with Carol?"

"Carol admitted to me that it was she that killed Karen, not wanting to take the chance that the virus would spread to the rest of the group. If she had only waited a few more days, it wouldn't have happened at all…It was a hard decision, but I made it for the good of the gro…" Rick didn't even see the punch heading his way before Daryl's fist smashed into his face, knocking him clean off his feet to leave him sitting on his rear end in the dirt. Wiping the blood from beneath his nose, Rick winced as he rose to his feet and stared back at the furious hunter.

"I don't understand how you could have just left her there! What kind of person are you? You can't just declare that you don't want to make decisions for the group for a year and then suddenly up 'n banish someone without discussing it with anyone else first!" Daryl's face was white with anger, his voice cold and quiet. Rick had never seen him so icy, and as for punching him in the nose – he would be very surprised if it wasn't broken. He tried to explain his actions as best he could.

"Daryl she killed one of our own, not a Walker; but a living breathing human being. Do you think she would have lasted five minutes in here once Tyreese found out that it was her? You know how he felt about Karen…"

"And what about how I felt about Carol? Did that ever cross your mind?" Daryl refused to be placated, getting more and more irate with the weak arguments Rick was setting forth.

"I couldn't take the chance that she wouldn't do that to someone else – what if it were Carl or Judith sick, would she have killed them too?"

"Rick, you're just talking out of your arse right now. Carol couldn't hurt your kids – she practically raised Judith, it would be like hurting one of her own. Hell, the woman can't even take down a deer if she sees that it's in a family group because she thinks that she's going to kill Bambi's mother! I can't believe that she would kill Karen in cold blood, there must be some other explanation."

"Well, there isn't. What's done is done and there's no going back now. She's got a car, plenty of fuel and enough food to get by; she's not coming back Daryl and we have to accept that." Rick was adamant that Carol would not be accepted back into the prison, even if she did attempt to make her way back to them. He placed his hands on his hips and tried to stare the other man down. However, Daryl was having none of that and pressed his face right up against Rick, poking him hard in the chest.

"Well, I won't accept that! Now, you tell me exactly where you left her and the way that she was heading or I swear to God, I'll do more than break your frickin' nose!" Rick backed away, holding his hands out in front of him in surrender.

"Okay, Daryl. I'll tell you where I left her, but she drove away pretty fast and there was a crossroad just down the road a piece. There just isn't any way of telling where she went from there. Besides, night's falling fast and you won't have any way of tracking her in the dark."

"I'll head off at first light then, you'd better be prepared to make some hard decisions if I do find her, cos if you're not prepared to let her back in the group I'll damned if I'm gonna stick around here without here. And if I don't find her…well I ain't sure that I'd come back either." Daryl shifted his crossbow to his back and strode off toward the cell block to start gathering supplies for his journey. Rick stood in the growing darkness, all of the sudden doubting the hard choices that he'd made. Sure, it had seemed like the best decision at the time, it was only now he realised that he had acted entirely alone and had not considered anyone else's opinion. He followed Daryl into the cell block and coughed to get everyone's attention.

"Everyone, could y'all listen up for a sec? I know I said that Carol had decided to stay behind to check out another housing estate, well I lied and I'm sorry for that."

"Where is she then, Dad?" Carl asked, tracing his fingers along the brim of his brown Stetson.

"I'll get to that in a minute, Carl. Could I ask the council members to join me in the library in a few minutes, please? Beth, I'd be obliged if you could keep an eye on Judith until we get back." Rick spun on his boot heel and headed off into the library without waiting to see whether anyone else would follow. As Michonne, Bob, Tyreese, Sasha, Hershel and Glenn filed in to take a seat around the table, Daryl came stomping through the door to throw himself down on a chair just away from the rest of the group.

"I made a decision for the group today, that I now realise was for purely selfish reasons."

"Ya got that right." Daryl muttered, scowling over at Rick.

"Daryl, please…let me finish. Last week when we were facing a terrible epidemic – and before we had the medicine that we have now – Carol did what she thought was in the best interests of the group. She admitted to me just yesterday that it was she that killed Karen, and she did it to prevent the disease from spreading any further." Rick spared a glance over at Tyreese who was sitting with his arms across his massive chest.

"I can't believe it! Not Carol, she couldn't have…" Hershel and Glenn exclaimed together, they simply couldn't believe that such a kind hearted woman like Carol could have done something so atrocious.

"Told ya." Daryl muttered, twitching in his seat, desperately wanting for this all to be a terrible dream and not reality.

"Look, Carol told me so herself – even gave me her reasons behind it and what she used to do it with." Rick explained patiently, "That's not the point anyway, the point is that I left Carol alone out there in the middle of nowhere and told her not to come back, that I wouldn't allow her to come back."

"How could you, Rick? This isn't some cold hearted killer we're talking about here, this is Carol!" Michonne slapped her hand down onto the table and got to her feet. "You said that you didn't want to be the one making sole decisions for the rest of us and then you go and presume to know what we would want! It doesn't work like that anymore, and you know it."

"I know, I know – all I can say is that I'm sorry and that I'm gonna leave it up to you to decide whether to have her back or not. I'm not going to interfere either way, but whatever you decide has to be for the benefit of the group…and there are to be no repercussions if you do decide that she can return." Rick shot a look over the table at Tyreese to direct his remarks straight to him. Everyone knew that Tyreese and Karen had been a couple and how distraught he had been burying her remains.

"I ain't gonna say anything against Carol…I know that whatever she did, she did believing it to be for the greater good." Sasha leant against her brother's shoulder to give him her support.

"Me too." Tyreese squeezed her hand, and they shared a quick look that spoke volumes, something that Daryl was quick to pick up on.

"What's goin' on? What ain't you tellin' us?" He sat up in the chair and leant his arms on his knees.

"Come on, Ty. It's okay now." Sasha whispered into her brother's ear and his great shoulders started to shake. She stroked his arm in comfort and continued to whisper softly. He took a deep breath and sniffed to clear his nose.

"Carol didn't do anything…it was Karen herself."

"What the f…!" Daryl leapt up from his chair and was across the room in a flash. "You knew this alla time and you didn't say anything?"

"Carol asked me not too…Lizzie was the one that found Karen in her cell trying to slit her wrists. Carol came in to find the girl and she said that Lizzie was just standing in the corner smiling at Karen. By the time Carol had arrived, it was too late to do anything for Karen, but she heard her say that she was afraid that the infection would spread and was trying to stop it from happening." Tyreese broke down as he explained the truth over what had really happened and was unable to continue.

"Tyreese was heading over to sit with Karen when Carol was forcing Lizzie out of Karen's cell. She was about to turn and Carol was trying to spare her the sight of that at least…" Sasha took over the story from her brother, continuing to stroke his forearm as he cried into his hands.

"Little freak probably would have enjoyed it." Daryl muttered, disgusted at the thought of a little girl watching someone die with such delight.

"She was just trying to protect Lizzie from whatever horror she could. No child should ever have to see that." Hershel broke in, he could see that Carol's instincts would have been to try and save the woman and when that failed, protect the child.

"She was worried that you would cast Lizzie out, so she decided not to let on what really happened. No one was ever supposed to know. Tyreese and I carried Karen out into the yard and burned her, Carol took Lizzie away and tried to find out what had made her act the way she did." Sasha sat back in the chair and faced the rest of the council. "It should be Tyreese and me out there, not Carol."

"What about the kid? What are we gonna do 'bout her?" Daryl leant over on the table and thumped it angrily.

"I don't think that any of us would even consider sending a child out into this world on her own, but I do think that she should be kept away from the main population until we can decide whether she is a threat to anyone else." Hershel looked around the room for support and everyone nodded in agreement.

"There's something else….when I was down in the tombs I noticed someone had been pulling rabbits apart down there and leaving bits and pieces near the doorway. I think that might have been Lizzie too, the footprints were kinda small enough to be hers." Tyreese added, feeling a lot calmer now that his secret was out in the open.

"Okay then, if we are all agreed – Lizzie is to be separated from the rest of the group until further notice, we'll take it in shifts to keep an eye on her over in A block now that it's been declared a flu free zone. As for Carol, I think that we can safely say that she will be welcomed back with open arms by all. Where did you leave her Rick? And who is going to be the one to break the happy news?" Hershel looked around to see everyone nodding in support of the proposals but could see that Daryl was still far from happy.

"What's up son?"

"Deputy Dawg here don't know which way Carol went…we've been so long yakkin' about it in here that she could be miles away from where he last saw her!" Daryl paced up and down the small confines of the library, fretting over the person closest to him; why didn't anyone else seem that bothered?

"Rick – you have a rough idea of where she might have headed? Could you show us on a map?" Glenn motioned over for Rick to rejoin them at the table. He had been sitting quietly in a chair by the door trying to get over the shock announcement made earlier.

"Sure – we were clearing out a housing development around here," Rick made a red circle to indicate the area in which he and Carol had been searching. "Woodbury is here," another circle, "And we are right about here." The final circle was drawn around the prison block and they all gathered in closer, Daryl scribbled some notes on one of his own maps and mumbled to himself before looking back over at Rick.

"How much gas did you leave her and what kind of time did she take off?"

"The tank was about a quarter full and there was a full can in the boot. She drove off about three o'clock this afternoon – which gives her about five hours of driving time."

"Assuming that she drove the whole time…" Daryl bent over the maps and drew a set of rough circles. "Okay, let's assume that she topped off the tank with whatever fuel she had with her – that's at least 100K. I'm gonna hazard a guess that she would avoid these two areas.." He placed a cross through both the town of Woodbury and the prison complex. "She's gonna figure that there's nothing for her in this direction so she would have gone the other way. Rick mentioned that there was a cross road just along from where he left her. That leaves us with two possible choices – she would have tried to stick to the smaller roads as much as she could, knowing that most of the Highways would have been blocked; remembering what it was like near Hershel's farm…." Daryl's voice trailed off as he bent closer to the map once more. His lean finger traced a small road that intersected with Rick's crossroad and he followed the road along until he jabbed his finger at the map.

"Son of a bitch! I know where she's headed…"

"Where do you figure, Daryl?" Glenn leant over to see where he had indicated and whistled through his teeth. "Oh, boy. Hershel - she's heading back to the farm."

"I think she wants to say goodbye to Sophia." Rick mused thoughtfully, leaning in to trace the circle on the map around the Greene farm. That place held conflicting memories for him too, it was where Hershel saved Carl from a gunshot wound and where Lori had told him that he was going to become a father again but it was also the place where he'd had to kill his best friend, Shane and then watch as his son put the newly formed Walker down.

"Or to join her…" Michonne stated quietly, bringing everyone's attention to her and holding up a hand when everyone started to protest. "If she thinks that there is no one here for her anymore then she might just feel like that. I know when I lost Andre; I was floundering for a while until I met up with Andrea and you guys."

"I'm gonna be bringing her back with me; even if I have to fight every Walker left to do so." Daryl rolled his map back up and stored it in his vest pocket.

"If you head out towards the farm, I'll take the other roads." Rick offered, only for Daryl to shake his head.

"Nah…I think she'd shoot you rather than listen to anything you'd have to say right now. Trust me, I know my woman when she's pissed and it ain't pretty." Daryl flushed as he realised that the rest of the group had caught his possessive tone. "What? You cain't say that you haven't noticed that she's the only one I can stand bein' around half the time…"

"Well we didn't like to assume…" Glenn stumbled over his words, as Daryl brushed him off.

"Weren't nuthin' to assume…never really told her how I really felt. That's gonna change when I catch up with her though…Anyway, if someone else could take the other road, I'd sure appreciate it." Daryl looked around the rest of the group, Michonne went to volunteer but was beaten to the punch by Sasha; who shared a look with her brother before speaking out.

"We'll go." Tyreese and Sasha stood together and clasped hands. "She'll listen to us and know that we've told you guys the whole story."

"Yeah, she might be a tad pissed that you've let the cat out of the bag so watch yourself. If you haven't found her within two days; head back to the prison and you can assume that she's with me. I'll do the same, although I'm pretty certain that she's headin' for Sophia."

"I hope that you're right and I wish you luck. When you find her, tell her I'm sorry will you?" Rick stepped over to offer Daryl his hand in friendship. Daryl accepted it and then pulled Rick into a swift hug before stepping back quickly.

"Yeah, and I'm sorry about the nose." Rick touched the tender object in question and shrugged off the apology.

"It's okay, I deserved it."

"Yeah, you did." Daryl threw Rick a mock punch and chuckled as he dodged out of the way. As he went to leave the room, he turned back to wink over his shoulder. "Oh, and Rick – move my stuff into Carol's cell while I'm gone would you, that woman's never gonna be more than an inch from my side for the rest of my life!"


	3. Chapter 3

Carol fought against tired eyes as she drove down the back roads leading back in the direction of Hershel's farm. The crying jag earlier had left her head feeling like it was stuffed with cotton wool and her eyes gritty. She checked the trip readout on the dashboard and calculated that she should reach the farm some time the next afternoon if she stopped to rest for the night.

She pulled the car off the main road and down into a slight gully. Luckily the weather had been dry and bright so there was no chance of getting the wheels stuck trying to get out in the morning. Carol rummaged around in her satchel for a bottle of water and an apple. As her fingers brushed the fruit she felt the edges of her journal that she carried with her always. She left the apple in the bag and brought out the journal instead. Opening it up to a fresh page; she began to write.

_Well, I did it. I finally told Rick that it was me that killed poor Karen. I couldn't let little Lizzie take any of the blame; God knows she's suffered enough already in her short life. Hopefully now that I've gone, no one will ever need to know the part that she, Tyreese and Karen had to play in the whole affair. Ty has promised to look out for Lizzie and Mika and will let Hershel know if he notices any unusual behaviour._

_My only regret is not getting to say goodbye to Daryl. He will never know just how much he means to me and I will cherish every moment that we've spent together – however innocent they may have been. If only I could have had the courage to show him how much I cared for him and that I longed for something more. The dreams I've had at night time were enough to make me blush thinking about them and I was afraid that he would see my wanton thoughts every time he looked into my eyes. Every day that passed I felt my feelings growing stronger, until I felt that they might burst out of me at any moment – what would he have said? Would he have turned away? Surely he must have noticed how I told him that I loved him in the little things that I did for him every day. Men like Daryl are few and far between and I feel blessed to have known him, even if it was just for a little while…._

Carol rubbed at a spot that appeared on the page, and realised that it was her own tears smearing the ink. "I'm like a dripping tap that just won't turn off." She wiped her nose with the edge of her cuff and placed the journal back in her bag. She tipped the seat back until it was almost fully reclined and tried to go to sleep.

A scream in the darkness woke her in the middle of the night, and Carol sat up with a start. Someone or something pushed against the side of the car, making it rock sideways. Carol scrambled with the seat controls and managed to get it upright so that she could peer out of the side window. She jumped back, pressing the door lock in place as a terribly distorted face pressed against the window, jaw dripping with blood and gnashing its teeth against the glass. She fumbled for her weapons and scrambled across the seat to reach the passenger door. The Walker continued to push against the car, causing it to rock more wildly, its cries soon led a second and a third to lend their weight against the door. Carol tightened her grip around the handle of her knife and threw herself out of the passenger door, falling out onto the road and scraping her knee on the asphalt with the impact.

Walker number three stopped rocking against the car and sniffed the air, scenting the faint trace of blood seeping through her pant leg. Carol reached a hand bag into the car to grab her satchel; not noticing her journal falling out to lie in the foot well. She kept her back pressed against the rear passenger door, in a crouched position waiting for the Walker to make his move. As soon as he lurched into view around the rear of the car she swiftly reached up with her knife and plunged it straight through his eye socket. He fell to the ground, body twitching as she pulled the knife out and whirled around to face down the other two. The first Walker had smashed its face repeatedly against the driver's window causing it to splinter and leaving smeared blood and spongy skin pieces across the glass. This one had been a female and it uttered a decidedly feminine scream when it realised that its intended victim was no longer in the car.

Carol looked around the rear of the car to gauge the distance between the car and the wooded area on the opposite side of the road. The final two Walkers were stumbling around trying to track her scent and she knew that it wouldn't be long before they found her hiding place. She bent down to inspect the damage to her knee, there must have been glass or something similar where she fell as the blood was now flowing freely from the wound. Carol reached around to remove her jacket which she had wrapped around her waist when she had pulled over. She rubbed her hand across her wounded knee, hissing between her teeth as she felt the foreign object dig a little deeper inside. She wiped her now bloody palm over the neck of her jacket until it was smeared in and then quickly threw the jacket across the car to distract the Walkers. As they sniffed out the new blood, Carol made her way silently across the road and disappeared into the woodland. The Walkers continued to lick the blood from the jacket and then stopped and dropped it to the ground. They paused with their heads cocked to one side and they stood still as if listening to instructions. If Carol had stopped to look back, she would have noticed them lurching along again heading in their ever present journey towards Washington.


	4. Chapter 4

Daryl brought his bike to a halt at the crossroads and checked the horizon in both directions. Tyreese drew up alongside him and they held each other's gaze for a moment before Tyreese held his hand out of the window for Daryl to clasp.

"I hope you find her man, I really do."

"Thanks, Ty. Remember, head in that direction for two days and then head on back to Rick. Hopefully my woman will be cozied up in her cell with me long before then…" Daryl kick started the bike and with a salute rode off toward the farm. Tyreese turned left instead of right and headed off towards the town of Kenton. No one from the prison had ventured out this far before so it was a complete mystery what could be waiting for them ahead.

Daryl rode slowly along the road scanning for any signs that indicated a vehicle had passed through recently. Although he had claimed with absolute certainty that he would bring Carol back with him; in the back of his mind there was that small voice that reminded him that she had been out alone for more than eighteen hours now. The chances of finding her unharmed were growing smaller and smaller as time went on. He shook his head to rid himself any negativity and squinted his eyes together in an effort to refocus his thoughts. Something red out of the corner of his eye caught his attention and he wheeled the bike around to take a closer look. He had only spotted it because his natural hunting instincts had alerted his brain to the fact that the red colour jumped out as not belonging amongst the greens and browns of the natural environment. Daryl brought the bike to a halt and leant across the saddle to retrieve the red gas can that Carol had abandoned by the side of the road. He ran his finger around the edge to see whether there was liquid around the rim. If the rim was dry it meant that the can had been emptied for more than a day as the gas would have evaporated; this can had a little moisture on the lip so he knew that he was on the right track.

He stepped off the bike and scanned the road for any indication of the direction of travel. It had been dry over the last couple of days so there was a layer of fine grit coating the surface of the asphalt. Daryl knelt down in the road and looked at both sides; there were crushed leaves in a swirling pattern directly in the middle of the road and as he looked closely he could make out the faint markings left by the treads of a car making a u-turn.

"Okay, baby. Just hold on a little longer, Daryl's coming for yer." He hopped back on the bike and took out his map to scan the route that Carol was likely to have taken. As she had turned around in the road, it was now clear that she was not heading for the town of Woodbury as she would have just had to continue the way that she had started. Daryl smiled in satisfaction as he saw that by following the road back the way she had come; Carol was retracing the route that the two of them had taken when they had first left Hershel's farm on the back of his bike. He knew that Carol would have been too sensible to try and risk driving through the night and scanned the map again to try and pinpoint where he thought she might have pulled over for the night. There were a couple of pull in areas along the route which Daryl circled before tucking the map back into his saddle bags and kick starting the engine back to life.

"You'd better be in one piece when I catch up with you, woman." He muttered under his breath; he shifted the bike into gear and set off down the road.

Not five miles down the road he smiled broadly when he saw the car Rick described pulled into a little gully at the side of the road. The smile faded as he got closer and saw the strange angle of the passenger door. He felt as if his heart was going to pound right through his ribs as he saw the fallen walker lying around the back of the car. He knelt down and saw the knife marks and empty eye socket from where Carol had put him down. Scanning the area for any signs of Carol, his breath caught in his chest as he saw the familiar discarded jacket with blood smears across the neck and shoulders. Daryl picked up the jacket and went on immediate alert; if she had been bitten….. He dropped to his knees and drew his crossbow from his back; ears pricked for any sounds out of the ordinary. Nothing. The trees were silent, there was no birdsong; just nothing. His breath sounded abnormally loud to his ears and he made himself slow it down until it made almost no sound at all. Daryl remained in a crouching position and carefully inspected the area around the car. He saw the blood spatter from where Carol had attacked the felled Walker and then the splintered driver's window with pieces of torn flesh hanging in place. He scanned around the rest of the vehicle until he saw where Carol had exited the car through the passenger side; there was a bloody handprint on the edge of the car door and he chuckled softly as he realised what she must have done in order to get away. He looked around the interior of the car, and gathered together the bits and pieces that had been left behind. As he went to place them in his saddle bag, one of the pages fell from Carol's journal; Daryl picked it up and caught a few words as he went to shove the pages together –

_…__how I told him that I loved him in the little things that I did for him every day. Men like Daryl are few and far between and I feel blessed to have known him, even if it was just for a little while…._

He felt his knees give way a little and had to lean against the bike in an effort to remain upright. "Carol…" He ran his hands over her words, smoothing the page flat under his palms. He folded the pages over until they formed a neat little square and placed them under his vest to sit just over his heard. Standing up, he moved over to the car and popped open the boot to examine what he could fit inside his saddle bags. After fitting what he could in the bags, Daryl removed them from the bike and threw them over his shoulder. He carefully wheeled the bike over to the side of the road and propped it up against the abandoned car. He had no use for it now, the blood droplets had lead across the road into the woodlands and the bike would be useless in that terrain.

"Thanks, Merle. I took good care of it; perhaps one day I'll come back and hopefully it will still be here." Patting what had been the last memento he had left of his brother goodbye, Daryl strode across the road following the trail that would hopefully reunite him with the woman he loved; and through her journal - now knew returned his feelings. "Hang on baby; you're like my lighthouse and I need you to keep me from sinkin'. I need to you to come back to me. Please be okay, Carol."


	5. Chapter 5

Carol finally reached the ruined remains of the Greene family farm around noon the day after she abandoned her car. It had been a long night, made even more difficult by her injured knee and tiredness brought on as a result of her emotional meltdown previously. As soon as Carol arrived she scanned all around for any signs of the hundreds of Walkers that they had left milling over the property. Unusually she found no signs of recent Walker activity; a fact which puzzled her at first but then she reasoned that with all of the cattle either being eaten already and no live humans in the local area; the herds must have moved on in search of fresh meat.

Having had to leave behind all of the supplies Rick had given her back on the Highway, Carol spent a couple of hours walking over the land closest to what used to be the original farmhouse looking for anything that may prove useful. The fire that Rick and Carl had started in the barn had consumed not only the barn but spread to the stables and house as well; destroying everything in its path. Carol wandered over to the area that previously served as their campsite hoping that by some miracle a bed roll or sleeping bag had been left behind in their hurry to move everything into the house. Finding nothing she turned her attention a little further afield; Daryl had set up his own camp on the sight of the original homestead where just the chimney wall remained silhouetted against the blazing summer sky. Carol decided that it was worth a look but first she had some visiting to do.

It had seemed like a miracle to her when she first looked across the ruined meadows that in the midst of all of the scarred landscape there was a small grove of trees where four grassy mounds of earth remained perfectly preserved. Carol approached the grove slowly and crouched at the edge of her daughter's grave and stroked the grass gently.

"Hey baby, just thought that I'd drop by to see how you're doing before I head on home. I thought that I'd found somewhere that I could finally settle in but that turned rotten pretty quickly. But I guess that you know that Lori's filled you in on all of that by now." Carol believed with all of her heart that death was not the be all and end all of a person's existence; otherwise what would be the point of them struggling to survive? She had told Carl once that she believed Sophia to be in a better place and that they would all meet again in Heaven one day. "I'm glad that you've got someone to take care of you – I'll be there to join you one day; until then you mind what Lori tells you and remember that I will always love you." Carol kissed her fingertips and pressed them against the mound of earth.

"I like what you guys came up with at the prison – the council I mean. I like to think that I had something to do with the formation; considering what happened to Randall." A softly spoken familiar voice drifted over from the grove of trees lining the edge of the crude cemetery. Carol looked up squinting in the full glare of the sun. All she could see was the dark outline of a man wearing a floppy fishing hat.

"Dale?" Carol questioned in disbelief not really sure if she were dreaming or awake.

"Yep, it's me alright; or rather the essence of me. The real me is lying not three feet away from you right now; there's Annette, Shawn and Sophia then me." The figure moved out of the light of the sun and into the faint shadows; bringing his familiar whiskered jaw and balding head into full view.

"I can see that – although I'm not entirely sure that I'm believing what I am seeing."

"Ah Carol; if you didn't truly believe you wouldn't be able to see. I've been hanging around a bit – just to keep an eye on things. I gave Daryl that urge to wait on his bike whilst he watched the barn burn that last night on Hershel's farm – if I hadn't been knew at all of this afterlife stuff he might have been able to pick up my little nudge toward Andrea too. I did call on a few friends to help me get everyone moving back to the Highway. God – that was a close one; if it weren't for Jacqui and Amy you might have all missed each other by miles!"

"Jacqui and Amy are with you?"

"No, they've both moved on now. They only stuck around until I was used to doing this on my own. I was with Lori as she gave birth to Judith; although why Daryl saddled that sweet little thing with such a foul nickname I will never understand." Dale shook his head sorrowfully, and Carol smiled in remembrance.

"'Lil Ass Kicker…"

"That's the one – I was with T-Dog when he sacrificed himself so that you could get away; didn't you ever wonder why he was suddenly so insistent that he finally knew God's plan for him was?"

"Did T-Dog stick around very long too?"

"No, with that final act he made up for any little wrong doing that may have kept him tied here." Dale placed his hands in his pants pocket and walked among the graves; his floral patterned shirt billowing out where it was unbuttoned down his chest revealing the sleeveless vest underneath.

"Is that why you're still around? Because of something that you did when you were still alive?"

"My main faults were arrogance and selfishness; traits that aren't too welcome up there, if you know what I mean." Dale pointed his index finger in the air above his head and then took his hat off to run it through his hands. "It appears that someone wasn't too pleased with me for steering Andrea away from the path she had chosen for herself. It was purely for selfish reasons that I persuaded her to come with me out of the CDC that night – okay it saved her life; but it also set her down a path that would ultimately lead to her downfall."

"Woodbury…" Carol murmured, they had lost Andrea in the fight with Woodbury; and it was still too recent a loss for many to bear thinking about. She turned away to compose herself for a moment, pulling stray weeds out from where they had shot up in between the grass covered mounds. "So, why have you come to me now, Dale?"

"You're coming up to a cross roads, Carol and I'm here to help you with the right decision."

"Am I going to die?" Carol asked quietly, and was taken aback when Dale laughed heartily.

"No! Not that kind of a cross roads – your time won't be up for a good few years yet!" Dale rested his hand against her shoulder for a moment, and Carol could feel the warmth of his touch seeping through the thin cotton of her shirt. "It's more of a crossroads in life. You're going to face a choice soon where there are two possible paths to choose. Each one will lead to eventual happiness but along the way there will be opportunities missed and regrets for each one." Dale picked up a twig and used it sketched a path on the ground. He made a fork coming from the main line and pointed to it with the twig. "This path will lead you back into your past – you may find things that you had thought you had lost; but you will never find the security that you have known with Rick's group." Dale pointed to the other fork in the dirt – "This path will lead you back to the only place you have ever really felt at home; but there will be struggles along the way."

"You're really not helping much, Dale. And if you're referring to the prison as 'home'; well I really don't think that one's gonna be an option. " Carol groused; how was she supposed to know when to make this all important decision and why did everything have to be so cryptic? Dale sat back on his heels and looked skyward as if waiting for permission to continue; he seemed satisfied with whatever answer he had been given and rose to his feet; reaching out a hand to bring Carol up with him.

"You'd be surprised at how things will work out in the long run. Oh, I didn't I mention that you wouldn't have to make these decisions alone? Take a look over the horizon and in a few minutes you will see what I mean…"

Dale turned Carol away from him in to face East – towards the Highway. She placed a hand above her eyes to shield them from the sun and could just make out a figure of a man walking towards them with a saddlebag hooked over one shoulder and a heavy black cross bow in the other hand. He dropped the saddlebags on the ground as soon as he saw her standing by the grove of trees and started running towards her.

"I have to go now, Carol. I'll drop in on you from time to time; just to see how you're getting on…Oh by the way, Sophia says 'hello' and that she loves you too." Carol turned around in surprise only to see that Dale was fading away – just before he disappeared completely he looked down at his side and Carol could see her beautiful Sophia standing next to Dale smiling – she looked perfect in every way; just as she had before she ran away in panic. Dale reached down to take Sophia's hand and as they both faded away completely; Carol heard her baby girl's soft voice floating on the wind.

"Love you, Momma…never forget."

"I won't baby, I promise." Carol whispered a last goodbye as she turned slowly back around to face the one person she thought never to see again. Could he be the 'fork in the road' that Dale had referred to? Had she really seen him at all or was it just a hallucination brought on from shock and a long night on the road? Whatever it had been, either real or imagined, the figure racing toward her now was very real indeed.


	6. Chapter 6

Daryl's frantic pace slowed to an almost casual stroll as he drew nearer to where Carol was standing near the small grove of trees sheltering her daughter's grave. _Be cool, don't rush anything. Take yer time, shit! _ He couldn't reason with himself any longer and let the cross bow slip from his grasp as he leapt the small space in between them and pulled her into his firm embrace.

"Had me worried, woman, when I saw all that blood on the Highway. Thought ya'd been bit fer sure, til I saw yer tracks leadin' off." He hugged her tightly and rubbed his cheek over her silvery hair. Carol could hardly believe that it was Daryl holding onto her as if he would never let her go; was this the same man that still shied away whenever her teasing got a little too close for comfort? Either way, at that present moment in time, she really didn't care; he was here and she was exactly where she wanted to be. Safe and with Daryl.

"You came for me." Carol whispered softly into the crook of his neck and Daryl pulled away slightly so that he could stare into her eyes.

"Didya doubt I would?" He saw the cloudiness drift over her eyes as answer enough and pulled her closer again, this time dropping a kiss on her temple. "Shit, woman! Haven't I always found ya before? Huh?" Carol pulled away this time and leant against the strong arm wrapped around her back. "Always, Carol." Daryl nodded firmly and she saw the determination in his eyes, lighting them up so that they shone like jewels in his tanned face.

"But you don't know…"

"Yeah, I do. Ty and Sasha told everyone what happened and Rick admitted that he was wrong. Don't worry, I popped him a good one on the nose; said it was from both of us. Stupid prick, thinking he could keep me away from…" Daryl cut his words off, colouring a little at what he had almost let slip. "Anyway, too late to head back now so we're gonna have ta bed down here fer the night. Got some grub in ma pack and I wanna take a look at that knee of yers; make sure it ain't infected." Daryl let his arms fall away and looked around in confusion for his saddlebags; he was certain that he'd had them on his shoulder. Shit! Where was his bow? Carol chuckled as the hunter whirled around in panic, only just realising that he'd let the bow fall out of his hands when he'd first approached her.

"Over there, Pookie." Carol tapped his arm and pointed out where his packs and bow had been carelessly abandoned a few yards away.

"Guess I musta dropped it or somethin'." Daryl flushed again as he stalked away to pick up the fallen items. He slung the saddlebag over his shoulder and then carefully checked the crossbow for any signs of damage.

"Uh-huh." Carol murmured in response, letting him get away with it for now. "C'mon, Pookie. The house has gone but I thought I saw your old campsite still set up over by the old homestead. If we're lucky your old bedroll might still be in there."

"Yeah, shame about tha house; had some good memories in there, might have been nice ta spend the night up in that old bedroom again."

"Good memories? You liked being almost gutted by one of your own arrows and then shot by Andrea?" Carol quipped, nudging his shoulder playfully as they started to walk across the fields to where the old homestead used to stand.

"Naw, not being hurt; that sucked! Didn't mind the room service though…" Daryl slung an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to his side. "Although what came with the dinner was the best bit, even sweeter than the meal itself." He whispered the last part against her ear and squeezed her waist gently; he was referring to the light kiss that Carol had pressed to his forehead after he had been injured bringing back Sophia's doll from the ravine. Carol had just brought his dinner into him and in a purely instinctive move had leant down to kiss him as thanks.

As he spoke, Carol's arm had crept around his back and slipped around his waist to rest against his hip; ordinarily a move such as that would have sent him running off into the nearest Walker herd as soon as her hand had made its first contact; but now he seemed quite at ease and if anything, moved closer into her touch.

"Hmm, play your cards right and there may be more where that came from." Carol teased gently and heard him growl softly against her ear, making her shiver at the sensations it wrought within her.

"Countin' on it, woman. Countin' on it." Daryl straightened up and withdrew his arm from where it rested around her shoulder. Instead of pulling completely away, he let his hand slowly run down her arm to tug her hand from around his waist just so that he could tangle their fingers together. "Let's get set up and then we need ta get those pants off you." He hustled them over to where his small orange tent was still standing, looking a little worn and tattered but still hopefully waterproof. He dragged Carol over to where a small log was placed just outside the tent and sat her down; standing behind her as she leant forward to untie the laces of her boots.

"Gettin' a little brave now, aren't we?" Carol said with an arched eyebrow, twisting around a little to wink at him. Daryl scoffed in response and then spoilt his haughty dismissal by the colour flooding his cheeks.

"Jest wanna get a look at that knee, ain't gonna complain though if ya don't put 'em back on."

"Yep, many a man have said the same thing…one look at my scrawny pins and they're putty in my hands." Carol mocked herself and jerked in surprise when Daryl tapped her buttocks lightly with his crossbow.

"Better not be flashin' those legs around…have ta start beatin' 'em off with a stick when we get back."

"Back? I wasn't planning on going back to the prison."

"Ya are now. Hell, I already told ya Rick admitted he was in the wrong!" Daryl blustered out, crossing around the log to stand with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Yeah, but the trust is gone and I don't want to spend the rest of my life wondering whether he'd just abandon me at the side of the road again. Being anxious every time the two of us were paired on a run together, I can't live like that Daryl."

"Ain't gonna have ta." He replied simply and uncrossed his arms to rummage in his saddlebags for bandages and ointment.

"Oh, and how's that, Pookie?" Carol leant back against the log, waiting for him to look up at her.

"Simple, ya ain't going anywhere unless I'm there ta protect yer ass." Daryl looked up from the saddleback with a smirk and a wink. "Ain't gonna let anything happen ta ya, Carol; and that's a promise I intend ta keep." His smirk turned into a full blown smile which made his eyes glow with an intense heat.

"Oh…" She replied weakly, the sight of that smile and the heat in his eyes. _I'm a goner for sure, if he'd have smiled at me like that back at the farm- hell even back at the quarry, I'd have left Ed without a backwards glance…_

"'Oh' that's all ya gotta say? Here I am, practically declarin' my intentions and all ya gotta say is 'oh'?" Daryl kept his heated gaze firmly on Carol as he crawled over to kneel directly in front of her.

"Give me a minute…" Carol murmured as she reached up a finger to trail it over the scruff on his chin, "Never mind…" She gave up all idea of coherent thought and decided that she'd just show him instead. She lunged forward to wrap her legs and arms around his torso; bringing their mouths together at last. It was a lush, open mouthed kiss; tongues tangling and breaths mingling as they duelled for control.

"Mmmm…ya been eatin' those cinnamon lifesavers again aint'cha?" Daryl moaned into her mouth as he tasted the spicy essence on her breath.

"You've been sneaking a smoke since I left?" Carol tasted the faint tang of tobacco and wrinkled her nose in distaste.

"If ya don't like it, I quit. Gotta get me some more of that cinnamon taste." Daryl plunged in for one more taste of that spicy cinnamon mixed with something that was pure Carol. He flicked his tongue over her lips and almost came in his pants when she pulled his tongue into her mouth and sucked hard on it. Somehow or another his hands found his way up under her shirt and he felt her nipple pebble against his palm. He massaged her whole breast in a slow circular motion, feeling her hips move in conjunction with his movements. Frantic hands grappled with his vest and sleeveless shirt, dragging them off his shoulders and moments later he felt the delicate touch of her hand upon his skin at last.

"Aahh, baby that feels good…" He moaned into her mouth, arching into her soft touch and feeling her smile against his lips. His hands slipped out of her shirt to grasp her knees to pull her thighs apart.

"Oww!" Carol's gasp of pain had him pulling back immediately, so fast that he almost toppled over backwards.

"Shit! I'm sorry, baby. Did I hurt you? Was it too much, too soon?" Daryl cursed loudly, running his fingers through his hair and calling himself every bit of a prick as Ed was.

"Pookie, no! It was great until you pressed too hard on my knee. You kinda made me forget everything else…" Carol admitted a little shyly, his kiss had swept every other little thing clear out of her mind; all of her attention being on how talented that man was in the art of pleasing a woman.

"That good, huh?" Daryl smirked over, feeling ridiculously pleased with himself. All of those back room bar fumbles in his miserable past faded into nothing compared with how the tiny woman in front of him made him feel with that shy admission. Sure, he'd been grateful for the attention from Merle's cast offs at the time, but could never make himself go all the way; holding that little piece of him back for that someone special. As soon as he saw the little slip of a woman pick up that axe to finish of her dead beat of a husband; he vowed that it would be her or no one else.

"Pookie, you have no idea…" Carol smirked back and let her hands fall to the side of the log. "Now how about you help me off with these pants so that we can get my knee fixed up? Afterwards, you can give me a little further demonstration of your 'intentions'…"

"Ma'am that would be my pleasure." Daryl leant forward to brush a soft kiss against her cheek and then swiftly took care of relieving her of her blood encrusted pants; with a few slashes of his knife the pants were off. The quicker he got her knee cleaned and bandaged up the quicker they could get on with the good stuff.

"Hey! Those were my only pair! What am I supposed to put on now?" Carol complained loudly and Daryl smirked as he got a good look at her 'scrawny pins' for the first time; winking naughtily at her. She smacked his shoulder hard; "I can't go walking through back to the prison wearing just my panties, idiot!"

"Guess you'll just hafta wear a pair of my sleep pants then. Lord knows why ya gave 'em ta me, never wear the things anyway." Daryl rummaged in the bag for a loose pair of jersey sleep pants and threw them over in her direction.

"When I think of all the times I came over to wake you in the mornings, and all the time you were just wearing boxers?" Carol gaped over at him and then her mouth fell open as he winked again and slid a hand in the belt loops of his camo pants dipping the side to reveal his naked hipbone. Carol swallowed hard and her voice was croaky as she struggled to formulate a reply; "No underwear at all?"

"You're the only one I wanted touching my boxers, when Beth took over the laundry detail last month…well it didn't seem right having the young'un touching up my undies."

"Good Lord, Daryl! You're lucky I didn't know that back then, you might have had to lock me up for my own good!" Carol's face was flushed at the thought of all the times she had nudged Daryl awake bringing him coffee and breakfast when he was on early watch or heading out for a dawn hunt. To think that he'd been lying there naked except of a thin covering, well it was almost too much to bear…

"C'mon, woman. Let's get that knee of yours fixed up and then I'll fix us up somethin' ta eat. Gotta get a little meat on those bones…somethin' fer me ta grab onto…" Daryl winked up as he knelt at her feet and gently pulled her leg up to rest against his thigh; to get a better look at her knee. Carol slowly inched her foot up his thigh until it rested just next to his groin area. "Careful now, baby, wouldn't want that foot to slip – might ruin our chances of a happy reunion."

"Spoilsport." She grumbled and rested her chin on her hands, moving her foot back to its original position further down his thigh. She laughed as Daryl growled gently and edged her foot back to where it was, "Didn't say I didn't like it, just didn't want it to slip and put me off taking care of you first." She wiggled her toes and he bit back a moan as she brushed against where he was all male. He growled deeply and bade her to cut it out until he had finished with her knee. She patiently waited and as soon as that last strip of bandage was pressed into place found herself eye to eye with a not so patient, Daryl Dixon.

"Now, where were we?" His voice was low and gravelly, the pitch sending ripples of desire throughout her whole body, just the sound of his voice alone was enough to make her go giddy.

"I believe you mentioned something about fixing up something to eat?" Carol murmured saucily, food being the last thing on either of their minds.

"Yeah, think I need ta work up an appetite first…" Daryl swooped down to pick her up off the log and strode towards the waiting tent. "And I think I know just what I'm in the mood for tonight…"


End file.
